From Hollywood to Spicewood
Former Hollywood heartthrob settles down at Hill Country riverfront compound
Willie Nelson has some new neighbors in Spicewood — Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues star James Van Der Beek and his family.
The Van Der Beeks recently relocated from a Mediterranean-style home in Beverly Hills to a 36-acre, 5,149-square-foot spread along the Pedernales River. The property is about six miles southwest of Nelson’s Luck Ranch.
The Van Der Beek family — James, wife Kimberly, and their five children — are leasing the five-bedroom, three-bathroom property for an unknown amount. The ranchette features a main house, as well as cabins, a barn, a swimming pool, and a trail to the river. Several years ago, the compound was advertised as a venue for weddings, corporate retreats, and reunions.
“This rustic country property is the perfect blend of Willie Nelson and Liz Lambert! Channel your ‘hippie cowboy’ and experience all this riverfront property has to offer,” according to an old listing for the property.
In a recent post on Instagram Live, Kimberly said her family plans to live in Spicewood for about a year before deciding where to put down roots, according to People.com.
“We’re going to try Texas out for a year and really give a lot of love to this property,” Kimberly said.
“We have incredible landlords, they’re magical, so they’re really letting us dip into it and really steward the land as if it’s our own and go wild with it, which is really cool,” she added.
On October 13, after arriving in Spicewood, James revealed why he and his family chose to leave Southern California. On Instagram, James explained that within the previous 10 months, Kimberly had lost two late-term pregnancies, a doctor mistakenly diagnosed her with a tumor, a business colleague “hijacked” a project and “stabbed me in the back,” he was “prematurely booted off” Dancing With the Stars, and his mother died. Coupled with the ongoing pandemic, those events prompted the Van Der Beeks to re-examine their lifestyle and head to Texas.
After a road trip through the Southwest that they chronicled on Instagram, the Van Der Beeks landed in the pastoral confines of the Hill Country.
“The space available in Texas ... where we’re at, it’s expansive and there’s a lot of space and I feel that for a big family ... it was just really, really necessary for us,” Kimberly wrote.
The estate is a private and peaceful oasis.Photo courtesy of Peyton Skinner
The spacious executive lodge also comes with a kitchenette, making it suitable for hosting guests or using as an office.Photo courtesy of Peyton Skinner